5: Her Zenith

You know that moment when you can't believe what you are seeing. That moment of denial. Here she is, Natalie, gaping foolishly at the scene before her.

Natalie is on her way to a full-blown panic attack. Natalie's eyes turn the world into a puddle of unrecognizable jumbles, she doesn't register the sounds that fell off her lip. Her hand flew up to cover her lips in the most cliché way possible.

"Jo...Joel?" She mutters. Tiny droplets of heart-shredding tears fell from her eyelids.

Honestly, she shouldn't even be surprised because she saw this coming. The constant packets of condoms in his pocket and the scent of ladies' perfume lingering around him whenever he can home dropped hints. She knew she couldn't delay the inevitable for so long. But his infidelity wasn't what broke her heart. It was the fact that they were going at it on their bed. Well...not a matrimonial bed because Natalie never once laid on it. But it hurt. Even when Joel glances at her in shock, it still hurt.

Joel fidgets. His hard manhood slips out of Hammy's core. Hammy winces as she quickly pulls herself into a sitting position. A tiny embarrassed blush covers both cheeks of the aforementioned lady. It seems broadcasting her nakedness wasn't part of her plans today.

"H...hey, Shit, hey baby," Joel mutters as he searches for his boxers briefs that he flung somewhere when he set eyes on Hammy's naked form sprawled on his bed.

Natalie's form is now shaking. She felt disgusted. The endearment she forever sought was no longer sweet to the ears. It sounds unapologetic and forced. Disgusting. He might have even called her that during their lovemaking, she thought bitterly.

"Look, Natalie, It's not what it-"

Natalie cuts him off, a wind of raw anger seeping through her veins.

"What it looks like? What I think? What!? Joel!?"

Joel frowns, his small nose scrunching as though he just perceived a bad smell. His fingers squeeze into fists and he almost smacks her across the face. The only thing stopping him was the shock and surprise from her outburst.

Joel isn't the only one surprised. Natalie is running mainly on adrenaline. She couldn't probably care what happens, whether she gets blinded or paralyzed. All she wishes to do is get it off her chest, and get it off her chest she did.

An hour later, Natalie is sitting outside the subway station. Her worn out duffle bag is loosely clutched in her grip. Her caramel-colored cheeks are stained with ugly tears and the familiar crimson tint is colored on her cheeks.

She is grateful the Subway Mothers were absent today. They are a bunch of old gossips that liked poke-nosing into other people's affairs to fill the blank space in their aging lives. A black lady with luggage would have made their headlines.

Her phone vibrates in her pocket and she takes a while to wipe her cheeks before she pulls it out and answers it.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Supergirl," Greg's teasing voice resounds through the tiny speaker of her phone.

Natalie sniffs and tucks loose curls behind her ear. A new batch of tears threatens to fall and she knew her resolve wasn't strong anymore.

"H...Hey," she breathes out, literally. It sounded more like a puff of air than an actual greeting.

Greg hears this and frowns from his side of his phone. He loses his tie and leans on his table that was filled with various pitches of designs and new products. His job as the head designer of Flourish A.T takes a rather huge toll on him, hence, his reaction when he saw Natalie almost committing suicide.

"Hey, you okay?"

Natalie tucks her fingers into her oversized hoodie. It was her size two years ago. It clung to her in the right places and brought out her eyes.

Now?

She looks more or less like a lollipop with an oversized wrapper.

Monika noticed this and Natalie gave the excuse of hitting the gym once in a while. Monika had flat out pointed out that her cheeks were slimming down, Natalie had only smiled nervously and excused herself to throw out the trash.

That's the same excuse she'd stuck with throughout the years and that's what she'll keep on saying.

"Ye... Yes, I mean yes! I'm fine." The lie slips easily.

She isn't okay.

She just got kicked out of her potential home. Her boyfriend just cheated on her and kicked her out. A tear rolls down her cheek and she is quick to wipe it off.

"Supergirl..." Greg trails off in a warning tone.

She didn't know why she said it, but she did. "My boyfriend and I broke up."

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

"No," She gasps in a shaky breath as more tears fell, "He kicked me out." She whispers.

Greg's heart breaks that moment. He rubs his palm on his forehead and waves his hand in dismissal when his assistant shoots him a worried glance.

"Do you want me to come to pick you up? I know we're strangers to each other, but... I don't know, do you wanna talk about it?"

Natalie is quick to reply, "No! I'm actually at my cousin's house." She bites her top lip as the lie falls out again.

"Oh, that's great then! I'm kinda busy and I'm sorry to cut this short but I'll talk to you later."

"Natalie."

"What?"

"My name. It's Natalie."

Greg grins playfully.

"Okay. Bye, Supergirl!"